Chocolate Peppermint Meringues

• Unwrap and crush the peppermint starlite candies in a large zip-style bag using a rolling pin and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Prepare a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer to whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until they are foamy. Add the vanilla extract. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar in at a time as you beat the egg whites on high speed. Continue beating the mixture on high until stiff glossy peaks form, about 6-7 minutes. Once you have stiff peaks, add a few drops of red food coloring.
• Cut a small piece off of the end of a disposable plastic pastry bag and insert a large star tip. Gently scoop the meringue mixture into the pastry bag. Pipe the cookies about 2-inches in diameter onto the parchment paper lined half sheet pan, evenly spaced. The red food coloring will swirl as you pipe the meringues.
• Bake the meringue cookies for 2 ½-3 hours. Or until completely dry. Allow the cookies to completely cool.
• As they cool, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Stir the chocolate with a clean spoon. Line another half sheet pan with a clean piece of parchment paper. Place the bowl of melted chocolate near your prepared pan. Place the crushed peppermint candies into a shallow bowl.
• Gently peel the cookies off the parchment paper and dip the bottoms into the chocolate. Shake off any excess chocolate. Dip them immediately into the crushed peppermint candies, then place onto the prepared half sheet pan to dry. Once completely dry, place in an airtight container at room temperature.